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Seismic structure of the Iceland mantle plume

Author

Listed:
  • Cecily J. Wolfe

    (Carnegie Institution of Washington)

  • Ingi Th. Bjarnason

    (University of Iceland)

  • John C. VanDecar

    (Carnegie Institution of Washington)

  • Sean C. Solomon

    (Carnegie Institution of Washington)

Abstract

Oceanic hotspots are generally accepted to be the manifestations of plumes of hot, upwelling mantle material1,2, but the nature of such flows remains enigmatic. Iceland, for example, is one of the most thoroughly investigated hotspots, yet previous seismological3–5 and geodynamic6–12 studies have been unable to constrain the width or temperature of the plume. Here we report the results of a regional broadband seismic experiment undertaken to determine the three-dimensional velocity structure of the upper mantle beneath Iceland using relative travel times of body waves from teleseismic earthquakes. Inversion solutions of the data show a cylindrical zone of low P- and S-wave velocities that extends from 100km to at least 400km depth beneath central Iceland. The radius of the low-velocity anomaly is about 150km, and its magnitude is approximately 2% for P waves and 4% for S waves, indicating that Iceland is underlain by a hot, narrow plume of upwelling mantle.

Suggested Citation

  • Cecily J. Wolfe & Ingi Th. Bjarnason & John C. VanDecar & Sean C. Solomon, 1997. "Seismic structure of the Iceland mantle plume," Nature, Nature, vol. 385(6613), pages 245-247, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:385:y:1997:i:6613:d:10.1038_385245a0
    DOI: 10.1038/385245a0
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    Cited by:

    1. I. N. Bindeman & F. M. Deegan & V. R. Troll & T. Thordarson & Á. Höskuldsson & W. M. Moreland & E. U. Zorn & A. V. Shevchenko & T. R. Walter, 2022. "Diverse mantle components with invariant oxygen isotopes in the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption, Iceland," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Cinzia Bellezza & Erika Barison & Biancamaria Farina & Flavio Poletto & Fabio Meneghini & Gualtiero Böhm & Deyan Draganov & Martijn T. G. Janssen & Gijs van Otten & Anna L. Stork & Athena Chalari & An, 2024. "Multi-Sensor Seismic Processing Approach Using Geophones and HWC DAS in the Monitoring of CO 2 Storage at the Hellisheiði Geothermal Field in Iceland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-21, January.

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